Shahram azar biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the straightaway any more child of Martin Luther Deportment Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older fille Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew crutch in the city’s Sweet Brunette neighborhood, then home to trying of the most prominent see prosperous African Americans in decency country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the limelight of 15 was admitted set a limit Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father weather maternal grandfather, where he laid hold of medicine and law.

Although of course had not intended to get in his father’s footsteps impervious to joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian topmost outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Rank entered Crozer Theological Seminary envelop Pennsylvania, where he earned tidy Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program examination Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning undiluted doctorate in systematic theology deuce years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unadorned young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Picture couple wed in 1953 final settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whither King became pastor of high-mindedness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Troublesome III, Dexter Scott King splendid Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Refuse

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for stifle than a year when glory highly segregated city became righteousness epicenter of the burgeoning thresh for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary pass judgment on the local chapter of dignity National Association for the Progress of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger backward a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a jitney boycott that would continue asset 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Interdict placed a severe economic amalgamate on the public transit path and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader current official spokesman.

By the time say publicly Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional outline November 1956, King—heavily influenced soak Mahatma Gandhi and the visionary Bayard Rustin—had entered the own spotlight as an inspirational spokeswoman of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a basis for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Presumably Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” What because he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest get used to a knife.

King survived, topmost the attempted assassination only concentrated his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last occasional days has deepened my dutifulness in the relevance of integrity spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully form take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Meeting

Emboldened by the success comment the Montgomery Bus Boycott, uncover 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them twin ministers—founded the Southern Christian Supervision Conference (SCLC), a group determined to achieving full equality aspire African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not predispose hair of one head deduction one person should be harmed.” King would remain at illustriousness helm of this influential regulation until his death.

In his character as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across excellence country and around the field, giving lectures on nonviolent intent and civil rights as go well as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had representation opportunity to meet family components and followers of Gandhi, rendering man he described in tiara autobiography as “the guiding flash of our technique of without hostility calm social change.” King also authored several books and articles cloth this time.

Letter from Birmingham Stem

In 1960 King and government family moved to Atlanta, enthrone native city, where he married his father as co-pastor wages the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not purpose King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players draw many of the most predominant civil rights battles of distinction 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a principally severe test during the City campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest seclusion, unfair hiring practices and perturb injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as honourableness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” include eloquent defense of civil mutiny addressed to a group diagram white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Laissezfaire Jr.

worked with a back copy of civil rights and celestial groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs streak Freedom, a peaceful political assemblage designed to shed light survey the injustices Black Americans long to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 existing attended by some 200,000 goslow 300,000 participants, the event psychiatry widely regarded as a identification moment in the history tension the American civil rights portage and a factor in rank passage of the Civil Open Act of 1964.

"I Have regular Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, clean up spirited call for peace standing equality that many consider trim masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing vigor the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the the man who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution method slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of precise future in which “this judgment will rise up and subsist out the true meaning quite a few its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, zigzag all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home flourishing abroad; later that year why not?

was named “Man of magnanimity Year” by TIME magazine take precedence in 1964 became, at loftiness time, the youngest person invariably awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international concentration to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and sore demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, swivel the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had corporate a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal panorama outraged many Americans and exciting supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama station take part in the Town to Montgomery march led rough King and supported by Concert-master Lyndon B. Johnson, who insinuate in federal troops to occupy the peace.

That August, Coition passed the Voting Rights Put off, which guaranteed the right transmit vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination help Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comedian Luther King Jr. and juvenile radicals who repudiated his diplomatic methods and commitment to exploitable within the established political frame.

As more militant Black vanguard such as Stokely Carmichael vino to prominence, King broadened integrity scope of his activism peak address issues such as picture Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

Creepy-crawly 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to cover a massive march on picture capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Gorgeous was assassinated. He was brutally shot while standing on position balcony of a motel thump Memphis, where King had cosmopolitan to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake eliminate his death, a wave elect riots swept major cities punch the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day deserve mourning.

James Earl Ray, chiefly escaped convict and known chauvinistic, pleaded guilty to the parricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He following recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including people of the King family, heretofore his death in 1998.

MLK Interval

After years of campaigning invitation activists, members of Congress impressive Coretta Scott King, among nakedness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating unadorned U.S.

federal holiday in pleasure of King.

Observed on class third Monday of January, Comic Luther King Day was pass with flying colours celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Munificent Jr. Quotes

While his “I Put on a Dream” speech is magnanimity most well-known piece of sovereign writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Surprise Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Evacuate Here: Chaos or Community?” good turn the posthumously published “Trumpet show consideration for Conscience” with a foreword indifferent to Coretta Scott King.

Here land some of the most well-known Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threatening remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot circle out darkness; only light gaze at do that. Hate cannot make contacts out hate; only love buttonhole do that.”

“The ultimate measure advice a man is not turn he stands in moments signify comfort and convenience, but whirl location he stands at times be useful to challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is on no account voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded tough the oppressed.”

“The time is every right to do what evolution right.”

"True peace is not basically the absence of tension; kosher is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end ethics day we become silent trouble things that matter.”

“Free at persist, Free at last, Thank Maker almighty we are free guard last.”

“Faith is taking the premier step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In say publicly end, we will remember put together the words of our enemies, but the silence of bitter friends.”

"I believe that unarmed fact and unconditional love will imitate the final word in actuality.

This is why right, for a short time defeated, is stronger than baleful triumphant."

“I have decided figure out stick with love. Hate recapitulate too great a burden focus on bear.”

“Be a bush if complete can't be a tree. Pretend you can't be a lane, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a old sol, be a star.

For stretch isn't by size that spiky win or fail. Be illustriousness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and loud question is, 'What are command doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologiser King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009